Pencil sharpening



(No Model.

H. W. HALES. PENCIL SHARPENING, POINTING, AND CLEANSING DEVICE. No. 557,670.

Patented Apr. 7, 1896.

WITNESSES:

TTORNEY ANDREW EGRAHIM Pnmtlunw. WASHINGTDND UNITED STATES ATENT ()FFICE.

HENRY IV. IIALES, OF RIDGElVOOD, NEW JERSEY.

PENCIL SHARPENING, POINTING, AND CLEANSING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,670, dated April 7, 1896. Application filed June 25, 1895. Serial No. 554,055. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY IV. HALES, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Ridgewood, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improved Pencil Sharpening, Pointing, and Cleansing Device, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to anewand improved pencil sharpening, pointing, and cleansing device; and it consists in a novel construction of the apparatus, whereby the knife which sharpens the pencil may be very easilymaintained in a sharp condition, which is a valuable feature in such a device, inasmuch as the graphite of the lead quickly takes off the fine edge of the cutter; and my invention also embraces means whereby the point of the lead maybe additionallysharpened and subsequently cleansed of any particles of lead, thus adapting the pencil for most convenient and effective use by draftsmen and others.

Broadly stated, my invention consists in two small blocks held together, with a circular recess or hole between them,through which the pencil is inserted, and by the side of the hole and fastened to one of the blocks the knife or cutter is arranged. In one of the exposed surfaces of each of the blocks there is also made a gutter-like or concave recess, in one of which emery, glass, or sand is fastened, whereby the point of the lead can be inserted and easily and quickly sharpened, and in the recess in the other block a pad, as of buckskin,felt,or similar material,is placed, whereby the point of the pencil and the wood adjacent to the point may be cleaned of adhering particles of graphite and rendered suitable for immediate use upon fine work. At one end of each of these circular recesses or grooves a pocket is formed, in which all particles of graphite or other particles which are separated or rubbed off by the sharpening process are caught and prevented from falling upon the work of the draftsman, which might smirch or deface the same.

In the drawings hereof, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the under side of that which is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an edgewise view of that one of the blocks composing the sharpener to which the knife is attached.

The device is composed of two blocks,which may be of wood, marked A and B.

O is tubular opening or hole preferably made half and half in each of the blocks.

D is a knife fastened to the block A by screws E, the edge whereof projects into the tubular opening C.

F is a gutter-like recess made in the part A, and G is a like recess made in the part B. The gutter F is lined, as shown, with emery, glass, sand, or other material-for instance, a file or rasp, adapted to sharpen the point of the leadand the gutter G is lined with a piece of felt, chamois, or the like material, marked H. It is shown as V-shaped in the drawings, because if in that shape it somewhat more snugly fits about the point of the pencil and cleanses it.

I I are two pieces of any suitable material, such as leather or strong stiff paper, which are fastened by cement or other adhesive ma terial to the blocks A and B, respectively, so as to inclose the lower ends of the recesses F and G made in them, respectively. The recesses do not extend through to the end of the blocks, and consequently these cap-pieces I I form pockets at the end of the recesses.

J is a screw whereby the two blocks are fastened together, and K is a little pin actuated by a spring L, which normally acts as a latch to additionally hold the two parts A and B together in the event of the single sorewJ failing to hold them with sufficient rigidity.

The operation of the device is as follows The pencil is inserted at the hole C and is turned against the edge of the knife D, whereby the wood of the pencil is out OK, and as the lead is exposed it enters the passage M cut for it, and in this manner is prevented from being broken ofi. The pencil being sharpened it is removed and the point is rubbed back and forth in the groove F, during which operation the lead is given a sharp, uniform, smooth point, and any particles of the graphite which are rubbed off settle into the pocket I at the end of the groove F, the instrument being held in such a position that gravity will cause the particles of graphite to drop into that pocket. Thereafter, in order to clean the point of the pencil of particles of graphite or other material, the point is rubbed back and forth in the channel of the chamois or felt H in the groove G, and any particles of graphite or other material which may be rubbed on"? will settle into the pocket I at the end of that channel, the same as in the previous instance. When the pencil is fully sharpened, the position of the sharpener is reversed over a cuspidor, ash-receiver, or other suitable receptacle, and the particles of graphite or other material which have settled into the pockets I I drop therefrom into said receptacle.

lVhen desiring to sharpen the knife, the screw J is run hackwardly, so that the two blocks A and B may be separated, whereupon the edge of the knife D is readily eX posed and can be sharpened by an emerystone or other suitable means.

Suitably stamped-up or formed metal may he used for the blocks or pieces A and B.

Having described my invention I clai1n- 1. A pencil-sharpening device comprising two parts having a socket between them, a knife attached to one of them, a groove in each provided respectively with rough cutting material and wiping or cleansing material, a cover for one end of said grooves, and

means to hold the parts together, for the purposes set forth.

2. A penciLsharpening device comprising a tubular socket, a knife engaging with the side of the socket, a vacant space beyond the knife for the point of the lead, a groove lined with roughening material to sharpen the lead, another groove provided with wiping or cleansing material, and a cover for a portion of each of the grooves, which forms a pocket forthe reception of dust, for the purposes set forth.

A pencilsl1arpcning device, comprising a tubular socket, a knife which engages with the side of the socket, a groove upon the outside of the device lined with rough cutting material, and a pocket at the end of the groove to catch the dust, for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 15th day of June, A. D. 1895.

HENRY VF. IIALES. \Yitnesses:

PHILLIPS ABBOTT, D. SoLIs RITTERBAND. 

